Cutter for vine crops



Oct. 23, 1951 E. l.. SCHEIDENHELM ET AL 2,572,203

CUTTER FOR VINE oRoPs F11ed Deo. 19, 1949 4 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR. /fora ce D Hume Oct. 23, 1951 E. L.. SCHEIDENHELM ETAL l2,572,203

CUTTER FOR VINE CROPS 4 Sheets-Sheetl 2 Filed Dec. 19, 1949 www MM.)

INVENTOR.

Oct. 23, 1951 E. scHElDENHEvLM ET AL y 2,572,203

CUTTER FOR VINE CROPS Filed Dec. 19, 1949 4 sheets-sheet s a 6, E@ 2f 26 m "p 95 d 2a w mi f 'Il l l l A i x l n l| 9 @www 9 25 3f 5a l. 220 f' l v ,e 7 21 ,Q9

u L 28 a 0a 7a INVENTOR.

Oct. 23, 1951 E. 1 SCHEIDENHELM ET Al. 2,572,203

CUTTER FOR VINE CROPS Filed Dec. 19, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 2 'EW/ff K INVENTOR. bni ce H/me Patented Oct. 23, 1951 UNITED STATES vPA'1f-151.1%'fr OFFICE 4Earl LScheidenhelm-and Horace DjHume', Mendota, ill.; .said Shfeidenhelm assignor to said 'Hume .,'Applicationieceniher 19, 1949, Serial No. 13327178 S-"Cia'ims The present finvention. relates to improvements 'in-a cutter `for'vinecrop'setc;

ft Vis-the purpose of this invention-toprovide :an improved cutter 'bar, sickle and mounting means therefor suitable for harvesting Lima :beans 'and similar V:vine props Where :the seed ."pods lie close Ytothe ground and Aon thev ground. .Crops of thistypeiareordinarily planted in rows ."andpultivated lduring Athe growingl season. In fcultivating, ridges of dirt are formed .against `.the row of vines "and the seed ipods .oftentimes .-rest on .these ridges fof dir t so 'that itis impossiblerto cut athe .vines above-the ground surface .without destroying a;substantial part of fthecrop.

According :to I.the present linvention =a .cutter bar sisprovidedthat will cutthrough the ridges foiidir.tgetting;all;of thebeans. Theconstruction .comprises axback bar .and;a;kniie -.cap with'con- .necting braces between :the knife -cap and 'the -backban all of which aresmooth round/surfaced :bars .so as .to leave no corners or lflat surface lfor .the soil .to clog or Lpack zupon. .The sickle head and guides are alsomade of roundsurfaced bars. The invention contemplates Salso a :novel -knife for the sickle which :avoids :the Ywedging of pebbles vbetween the knives andfthe guards vthat takes :place when a .sickle of :the "ordinary Vconstruction yis operated in pebblyLsoil.

The :nature and advantages of l.the :invention will .appear more .fully from the 'following #delscrip'tion and ithe iaccornpanying tdrawings illuslltrating a preferred construction.

.In Y.the Adrawings I `Figure 'l is a fragmentary :plan view of Aa vine fcrop harvester .showing 'our :improved cutter fbar :in .combination with a conveyor forrelevating .the .cut vines; a .Figure 2 is a somewhat diagrammaticview `:taken on .the line 2-2 of eFigure f1 and illustrat- :ingthe manner in'which the'cutter bar operates belowtthessurface of 'the soil; f

.Figure 3 vis .anfenlarged fragmentary View .lookingto the leftfrom the line 3-.13- of .Figure .2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional `view Ftaken onthe line Ji-li -of Figure vl with the pitman rod'and connecting brace `rod removed;

Figure'isa plan section taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Figure4;

Figure 6 is a front face View of the cutter bar on an enlarged scale;

Figure I is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the cutter bar with a modied knife;

Figure 8 is a sectional View taken on the line 8-8 1of Figure A7;

fofFiguref; and Y Figure 1G is a somewhat diagrammatic front view of the cutter bar and its relation to the vground and to the plants being harvested.

."Referring now to thedrawings, the numeral l 0 indicates a'conveyor frame which embodies :an elevating draper -Il tand a rotating .pick up; device l2 with.:receding teeth t3 .combinedwithf-a cutter bar I4 .and a sickle t5. v `The lcutter .bar is supported .on shoes l5 and l'l-zandis `braced by a connecting -rodv i8 which extends. -gtogfthe .frarneofA a suitablelpowermechanism, notfshown, -ior operating the fpitman'rod 19 that drives .the sickle 1'5.

In vharvesting Lima -beansfand similar rcrops, it is necessary as outlined hereinbefore, .to cut the vines .below the surface of '.theisoil. vFigures 2 and ll() illustrate diagrammatically lthenvvayin which the present device :operates Ito engage .the stalkof the '-vinebeneathfthe soil surface; 'The cutter bar :includes round bottom knife, guards 2G beneath thefknivesll tot :the sickle. The knives vare .secured to afsickle bar .22 -which fis non top ofthe knives, thefcuttingedges .of the knives riding directly -on 'the :guards 2d. The cutterbar comprises a mainfback .bar 23'- of roundishafting to which .the'guards .2d .are welded at. 29a.: .A round .cap rod 21% .lies directly over `ithe ,knives .2l to. hold them .down and .'is .spaced :from fthe `bar :23 to `provi'defa :slot iinl 'which thesickleA b'ar runs. `barf`23 by support rods constructed `of .round rod The acap (rod .26 is `connected ito the back sections '.25 `that y'are welded :at f2.5@ to the .cap rod 'and yextended directlyupward thereiromsand then rearwardly over :the 'bar :.2'3.. Removable connection between 'the support rods .7.25 :and the bar 223 is lprovided .by *.platesl welded -at .iidlto .therods12`5 andp'lates 21 Weldedfa'tzZila'to therbar '23. lBolts ZSandnutsi-EQ connect'theibarsz and 21 together. :It Willfbe notedfthatWithithiszconstruction all of the .parts `:eXc.ept;the sickle ybar and its .knife :present smooth .rounded .surfaces `to .the 'soil :that flows 'over the 'sickle .bari as .-.it -is operated and advanced through the '.soilljust below the isur'fa'ce. EIheuQlates .2'6 .and 12J vbeing to the `rear o'f the .bar 23, .do .not .present .any 1problem .of cloggingwith fdirt.

The sickle Ifhead lusen and ythe .guid-s therefor -porting -a ball imember. 32 to lwhioh Lasocket 33 -on the pitrnan rod isfsecured.. The head-aimais guided v'between an :extending .portion 34 :of the 'mounted-onlthefshoe L6. The'barz' issupported by a .plate Sw'hichiis bolted .etc the shoe mwa reenforcing plate 3'! being usedibeneathithe rplate 3e and A=extenling beneath the ihead '.39 .of vthe by La lower v'round bar-238 :and an; upper '.round :bar v`"39 -welded1-'at38a and :39azto the sickle. head. near its `free Aend. =A Jcross :tie i411 is Lusen ito .connect i the ends of the bars 34 and 35 and is held by means of screw bolts 4I and 42. The cross tie 40 is removed when it is desired to withdraw the sickle. It will be appreciated that the bar 35 can be removed when the sickle head and sickle are to be withdrawn.

The shoes I6 and l1 are welded as indicated at I6a to frame supporting, round members 43 and 44 which are connected to the frame l0 of the conveyor. A ball 45 for the brace rod I8 is secured to an angle plate 46 vthat is welded at 46a to the extension 34 of the bar 23.

Figures 7 and 8 of the drawings illustrate a modified form of sickle knife 2 I which has been found particularly useful in cutting crops in the manner described hereinbefore. This knife is shorter from front to back than the conventional knife so that the guards 20' extend beyond the forward ends of the knife. The cutting edges 4l and 4B of the knives 2| are curved from the front end of the knife to present a convex edge forwardly. In stony ground this particular construction is highly advantageous in preventing damage to the knives since the pebbles and small stones encountered do not wedge between the knives and the guards as readily as in a straight edge knife. The other parts of the cutter bar and sickle are th-e same in the modified form as in the main form of the invention.

The supporting members 43 and 44 are adinstable with respect to the main frame I 0. The rear ends of the members 43 and 44 are bent upward as shown in Figure 1 at 43a and 44a. A frame portion 49 is provided at each side of the main frame. The adjusting means is the same for both members 43 and 44. The details of this adjusting means is shown best in Figure 9. Each of the members 43 and 44 has a post 59 at its front end which post has a yoke I at the top. The yoke 5| is pivoted by a pin 52 to a bracket 53 that is bolted to the front end of the portion 49. At the rear end of each of the members 43-44 a strap 54 is pivoted. This strap has several apertures 55 in it and is fastened to the rear end of the frame portion 49 by a bolt 5E. The aper vtures afford ample adjustment for the cutter bar. By adjusting the straps 54 upward or downward on the rear ends of the frame portion 49, the members 43 and 44 are adjusted angularly about the pivot pins 52 to set the cutter bar at the proper angle to the frame I0.

It is believed that the nature and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the foregoing description.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A cutter for Lima beans and similar crops comprising, a back bar which is round in cross section, spaced guards secured to the bottom of said back bar and extending forwardly from the back bar, said guards having rounded bottom surfaces, a sickle bar, knives secured to the sickle bar against the bottom face thereof, the knives resting on the guards, a cap rod spaced from the back bar and overlying the knives in front of the sickle bar and support rods secured to the rear side of the back bar and projecting forwardly over the back bar and downwardly to the cap rod and fixed to the cap rod.

2. A cutter bar assembly for harvesting Lima beans and similar crops, comprising in combination a round back bar, a round cap rod and spaced support rods on the back bar holding the cap rod spaced forwardly from and parallel to the bar to provide a guide channel for a sickle bar, and flat topped round bottomed guards fixed on said back bar and extended forwardly therefrom beneath and spaced from the cap rod and cooperating therewith to guide knives on the sickle bar.

3. A cutter for Lima beans and similar crops comprising, a back bar which is round in cross section, spaced guards secured to the bottom of said back bar and extending forwardly from the back bar, said guards having rounded bottom surfaces, a sickle bar, knives secured to the sickle bar against the bottom face thereof, the knives resting on the guards, a cap rod supported by the back bar and overlying the knives in front of the sickle bar, the back bar being extended beyond the ends of the cap rod, ground engaging shoes secured to the extended portions of the back bar, a round extension on said sickle bar, a round guide bar on one of said shoes parallel to one extended portion of the back bar and forming therewith a channel for the round extension of the sickle bar.

4. A cutter for Lima beans and similar crops comprising, a back bar which is round in cross section, spaced guards secured to the bottom of said back bar and extending forwardly from the back bar, said guards having rounded bottom surfaces, a sickle bar, knives secured to the sickle bar against the bottom face thereof, the knives resting on the guards, a cap rod supported by the back bar and overlying the knives in front of the sickle bar, the back bar being extended beyond the ends of the cap rod, ground engaging shoes secured to the extending portions of the back bar, a round extension on said sickle bar, a round guidev bar on one of said shoes parallel to one extended portion of the back bar and forming therewith a channel for the round extension of the sickle bar and, an upper round bar and a lower round bar on the sickle bar extension holding the extension in the channel between the extended portion of the back bar and the guide bar.

5. A cutter for Lima beans and similar crops comprising, a back bar which is round in cross section, spaced guards secured to the bottom of said back bar and extending forwardly from the back bar, said guards having rounded bottom surfaces, a sickle bar, knives secured to the sickle bar against the bottom face thereof, the knives resting on the guards, a cap rod supported by the back bar and overlying the knives in front of the sickle bar, the back bar being extended beyond the ends of the cap rod, ground engaging shoes secured to the extended portions of the back bar, a round extension on said sickle bar, a round guide bar on one of said shoes parallel to one extended portion of the back bar and forming therewith a channel for the round extension of the sickle bar, and a removable cross tie connecting the outer end of the guide bar to the extended portion of the back bar.

EARL L. SCHEIDENHELM. HORACE D. HUME.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 489,062 Wilson Jan. 3, 1893 1,212,880 Baldwin Jan. 16, 1917 1,947,123 Carlson Feb. 13, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 392,041 Great Britain May 11, 1933 

